Labels: Damnably
Review by: MH
I am more than happy to listen to bands playing 90s indie rock and updating it to sound more recent which is what we have here from these illiterate Baltimoreans. I saw someone insisting that the band is actually called Golden Curls but that it was a typo on the website – who knows? I found no further evidence of this claim and with the album being called “Typo Magic” I should probably ignore any more hints of a mistake. This is an album which has apparently been some time in the making but was likely worth the wait – at least, in the case of you having heard this band before…unlike me who had never heard of them until last week. They listed Dinosaur Jr, Seam and Pavement amongst others as influences and you can hear it on the album. I can also hear “Daydream Nation”-era Sonic Youth in there particularly in the guitar sound and understated vocals. Like I said anything that takes me back to my teenage years and going to see some of the aforementioned bands is always going to peek my interest. There is a lackadaisical, mellow feel to some of the tracks and they rarely go full throttle although there are a few faster tunes on here like “Uphill Fight”. I get the most out of the more laidback side of this band though. The almost standout is actually the instrumental “End Of The War” and I’d say it’s worth the price of the album alone. This one builds from a slow, melancholy guitar riff into a soaring, more layered bit before it criminally fades out at the end – I just like to nitpick and insist they rounded the track off with a proper ending. Other highlights would be the shoegazy “Cars On Mars” and also the understated “Providence” which is also the shortest song on here . This one came in on the same email as Bored Spies so thumbs up to Damnably Records again for this one.